A Series of Kisses
by Emma Boulivier
Summary: Sometimes a kiss says more than words ever could.
1. 11 years old, A kiss in the jungle

**A Series of Kisses**

11 - The Jungle

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"I think they headed this way!" Pointed an anxious Gerald at the path ahead while looking back at his two companions. He looked tired, covered in dried mud from head to toe. A machete in one hand a torn map in the other.

Arnold looked at him in relief, he was tired and weary, jeans also covered in mud, shirt torn in a few spots, blood trailing from a cut by his brow, and a bloodied pink cloth in his upper left arm. Helga in contrast was glaring fiercely at him, but she looked no better than the two boys. Her jeans were torn, with what looked like dried blood under one of her knees, she mud all over her, and the hair that she once kept in pigtails was flowing freely over her shoulders a blond curl falling in her face every few minutes. She kept pushing it back angrily.

"Great work, Sherlock. What gave it away? Was it the broken branches or the tire tracks?" She said mockingly, stopping to put a hand on a nearby branch and catch her breath "Oh, wait! Maybe it's the fact that this is the way to the temple!" she sneered up at him.

"OK, that's it!" lodging the machete on a nearby tree trunk, he turned to advanced on her. "What is your problem Helga?! You have been doing nothing but bitching since we got off that cliff!!!" he yelled at her.

Standing at her full height and lifting her chin, she glared fiercely at him "Obviously YOU, are my problem Geraldo! Thinking yourself the leader, only because you have a machete! Who gave you that stupid thing anyway? You aren't even doing a good job with it!"

"What?! That makes no sense! I don't think myself leader! And what does it matter who..."He trailed off, and just stared angrily at her. After a few moments he threw his hands in the air "You know what?! FINE! You lead the way!" He said pointing at the machete. "Let's see how good a job you do."

Glaring she made for the machete when a hand grabbed her arm yanking her around to face an angry Arnold.

"Stop it." he growled at her. Turning to face Gerald "Both of you, stop."

Turning Back to her he took a calming breath and let go of her arm "Fighting each other will get us nowhere, and yelling will only get us captured. Again. I don't think we will be as lucky a second time." he didn't need to say it out loud, both Gerald and Helga understood the meaning behind his words: a few bullets and a cliff will seem like nothing.

Sighing wearily he ran a hand through his hair and looked up at the forest canopy.

"I know I am asking for a lot. We're all tired, and with everything that's happened in the last few hours; well I can't really blame you for going at each other's throats. But if we want to find my parents and survive, we need to at least TRY to get along." At this he looked imploringly at Gerald. Asking him silently to be the better man and let it go.

Narrowing his eyes, Gerald looked ready to argue.

After a long pause and clenching his jaw, he muttered an angry "Fine" turned, grabbed the machete, and silently started making his way further into the jungle. Leaving Arnold to deal with Helga.

Thinking that he owed his best friend a lot, Arnold turned to face Helga. Who was glaring off into the distance.

Sighing wearily he thought tiredly for the millionth time: letting her goad him into accompanying them to the jungle, was probably the worst decision he's ever made...No, scratch that, the worst was not listening to her. That had only gotten them caught, he thought, a chill running down his spine as he remembered her pushing him away to save him from that second bullet, and holding tightly to her arm as they fell off that cliff...Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Helga...what's wrong? Why do you keep trying to pick a fight with Gerald?" at her silence he ventured again "You were fine with him leading for the past three days, so that can't be it. What's really bothering you?" he asked tiredly.

Glare deepening, she folded her arms and took a step away from him "I already said what's bothering me football head, so drop it."

Noticing her movement he frowned and took a step towards her, she backed up again. She was avoiding him. She had been avoiding him as much as she'd been arguing with Gerald. He knew she was, but he hadn't paid much attention to it before. He hadn't really cared. But now it seemed to annoy him. A lot.

Taking another step forward she was about to back away, when he reached out and grasped her elbow, stopping her retreat. At that he noticed her nails began to dig into the skin of her arms. "Helga?" worried he glanced back at her "Please, tell me what's really bothering you?" He'd never seen her this tense before, and looking closer, were those...tears?

Without warning she dropped her hands, twisted around, and punched him on his side.

"You want to know what the HELL is bothering me Arnoldo?!" Yelling at his wheezing form she pulled her arm out of his hold "You almost DIED! You got shot! And as if that wasn't enough, you fell off a cliff!!!!" she continued to yell, backing away from him. "I thought you were dead! And then...l...I thought..." here her voice broke and she bit her lip as if to prevent any more words from leaving her mouth. Her eyes brimming with unshed tears. She was loosing control.

Catching his breath, he reached out for her again but she slapped his hand away, backing into a tree trunk. "Don't. Touch. Me." She told him looking up threateningly.

Now, he was angry, really angry. What the hell was her problem? "Right." He said through gritted teeth.

Moving forward, he stepped up to her until she had to press herself against the tree in order to keep from touching him. "You told me to not touch you. So I'm not" he said before she could do more than open her mouth, more than likely to yell at him. "But I'm not letting you get away. Not anymore." He finished by slamming a hand on the side of her face when she tried to inch towards the right. Glaring down at her shocked eyes, he wondered feebly: when had he grown taller than her?

"Now tell me what the HELL is going on? Why have you been avoiding me? What does me almost dying have to do with you fighting Gerald every step of the way?!" Narrowing his eyes and leaning closer to her "And, if I remember things correctly; you were also shot at, and hanging just as fiercely to that cliff as I was." he finished in a deadly voice, staring down at her in anger.

To his amazement something happened, something he thought she would never allow anyone to see much less him. A tear fell. Blinking in surprise, he watched it slide down her cheek. Soon others followed the first.

As if in a trance, he reached out his hand and touched her cheek trying to wipe them off. A sob escaped her when his hand touched her "Helga...?" glancing worriedly at her, he saw as she let out another sob and crumbled to the floor. Shaking and covering her face with her hands as she cried.

Completely lost as to what going on, he knelt down in front of her. Grabbing her hands he pulled her forward a little. When she resisted, he whispered that it was going to be alright and tugged again, this time instead of resisting she flung herself into his arms, nearly making him loose his balance. Letting out a breath he buried his face in her soft hair and hugged her tightly, waiting helplessly for her to calm down.

After what seemed like a few hours her crying was reduced to sniffling and she started mumbling something into his chest.

"What was that?" he asked softly.

Feeling her stiffen he held her tighter to keep her struggling form from leaving his arms. A few tries later she gave up and lifted her face to glare at him. A light blush in her tear streaked face.

"I said I can't yell at you!"

Raising an eyebrow at her "Yeah, I can see how hard you are working at restraining yourself..." he replied sarcastically.

"That wasn't what I meant and you know it! You almost died! I can't yell at you!!!" She explained, tears beginning to gather in her eyes again "But I can yell at Gerald. I know he saved us! I know that if he wasn't the only one thinking clearly we'd both be dead. And that pisses me off! It means I'm useless. All I've done is cause problems." Raising her fists she started pounding his chest "I get your parents captured, got US captured, then lost, and almost killed!! TWICE!!!! And that scares me! I get angry when I get scared! I only know how to be angry. So I want to yell at you but I can't! So I yell at him instead!!! You almost died. I almost lost you!"

"Helga" He began trying to get her to stop struggling. "Stop...listen" All that did was get a no out of her and more pushing. Frustrated he braced himself and pushed her closer, trapping her hands forcefully between them. "Stop it!" He yelled when she tried to push again.

"Listen carefully" he told her, pausing to see if she would argue some more. When she didn't, he continued slowly, trying to make her understand "My parents getting caught was not your fault. They would have been found whether or not you were involved. You didn't get us lost, you fell on a river, and NO, we weren't going to abandon you!" He said quickly "You didn't get us caught either, that was my fault. I didn't listen when you told me not to go that way..." Swallowing hard he pressed on "It was MY fault that we had those guns pointed at us, if you hadn't...if you hadn't pushed me away when you did, that second bullet would have done more than just graze my arm like the first one did." He had been really stupid "Because of me you could have died...you would have been shot instead of me, and you could have fallen off... You would have died and..." He was horrified.

"That's not important" she said quickly looking off to the side.

He blinked "...What?"

"Nothing" She whispered harshly "We need to find Gerald. I promise I won't yell at him again, so let go."

"What?" he repeated transfixed, he couldn't have heard correctly.

"I said that we need to find Gerald, so let go"

He was so surprised that he almost let her go. But only ended up digging his fingers into her arms when she made to move away. He was beginning to see red. What did she mean?

"What do you mean by _'not important'_, Helga?"

"Nothing Arnoldo! And let go, that hurts!!"

"Not until you tell me what you meant by _'not important'!!!_" He yelled at her. Pressing harder.

"It means what it means! Not important!!! If I died, it wouldn't BE important! Nobody would blink twice. Nobody would care. Unlike you Mr. Do-gooder, I don't matter to the world. I'm not important! Nobody gives a damn about me. Now let go. You're hurting me!"

His mouth had suddenly gone dry. Swallowing hard he stared at her. He couldn't seem to wrap his mind around what she had just said. How could SHE of all people say that? Think she wasn't important. She was...she was Helga! If it wasn't for her, they would have lost so much in the neighborhood, he wouldn't have found his parents, he wouldn't be alive!

"Everybody would care. Your family would care, our friends back home would care, I care." He pleaded with her.

"HA! Yeah right!" laughing hollowly she looked up at him "My family can hardly remember my name, more than likely they don't even know that I'm gone. Phoebe is my only friend and she's better off without me. And you, of course you care, that's what you do, you care about everything. You'd probably care for my death as you would with a dead plant." she finished mockingly.

"Don't say that Helga, it's not true and you know it." He said in a deceptively calm voice, he was finding it incredibly hard to keep his anger in check. She had always been the one person to make him loose his patience. She always seemed to know which buttons to push. But he had never lost it so much as he was about to do. "Don't say that about me Helga. You of all people should know better. You know it's not something I just do. I care about you..."

"Oh please, stop it!" She interrupted, she didn't know why, she knew he was dead tired and angry, possibly more than he'd ever been with her, more than he'd ever been, period. But she was tired of this game too, hell she was tired of everything at the moment so she couldn't really stop herself from going on "Don't try to fool me like you do with everyone else. Of course I know better. I see what you do. I see it all the time. You fix things! You take on this little projects, and you make it all better. You fool everyone into thinking that life is full of sunshine and daisies. And once they believe you, you move on to your next project!" his face was getting red, her arms will probably have bruises when he finally let go, but she won't stop, she was already in this deep, so she might as well get it all out "I am NOT a project! So stop saying you care! Stop trying to fix me! My life is what it is and NOTHING can fix it. You pretending that you care will not make anything better. Stop lying and just get the damn truth out! YOU. DON'T. CA!!"

She didn't get to finish her sentence, he didn't let her. He'd had enough he was tired. He saw the problem now and she would never believe his words, she didn't want to. So, moving one hand to the back of her neck he pushed her face forward and pressed his lips to hers.

A surprised gasp left her lips. Thinking she was going to push away he pressed her harder against him. And it wasn't until he felt her tension melt away and her lips respond to his that he let his hold relax a bit.

After a few minutes he broke away to catch his breath, resting his forehead against hers "I'm not trying to fix you, it hasn't been like that for a long time Helga." he whispered hoarsely before lowering himself to catch her soft lips again.

"Arnold! Helga! Were are you guys?"

Jolting apart, they looked up and saw Gerald making his way back to them.

"There you are!" he said spotting them. "I thought you guys were behind me so I went ahead! I found...What were you doing on the floor?" eyes going suspiciously from Arnold who was helping Helga off the floor...to Helga who was blushing a deep red and looked like she'd been crying. Neither looking at him.

Clearing his throat "Talking" said Arnold after a few minutes. Ignoring his best friend's raised eyebrow he changed the subject "What were you were saying you found?"

Looking at his best friend he decided to drop it, for now. He'd get the truth out later. There were more important things now.

"I found your parents, your mom's at the jeep with two guards, your dad was taken inside a cave. I think we can free your mom between the three of us. Then go help your dad."

"Right" He'd been so involved with Helga, he'd momentarily forgotten they were in the middle of the jungle. Trying to rescue his parents and stay alive in the process. Taking a deep breath he told Gerald to lead the way. He'd let his emotions take control...it seemed to be something that was increasing whenever Helga was around.

"I won't argue with him anymore...unless he really gets in my nerves." said Helga after a few minutes of walking quietly behind him.

Looking back at her in surprise he saw that she had her arms crossed and was rubbing were his hands had been. She was shaking a bit, and a blush was still in her face. Frowning he took one wrist in his hands and touched the spot with his other. He'd hurt her.

"Sorry about that..."

"It's alright" She said quickly, not looking at him. After a few minutes she took a deep breath squared her shoulders and finally looked up at him "We need to go. We'll loose Gerald and we need to save your parents."

She was right, they needed to move. Taking her hand in his, he started following in the direction Gerald had left. But stopped in his tracks as he remembered something, turning around he looked down at her "Don't do anything stupid. Don't go jumping in front of any more bullets, alright?"

Shaking her head she looked at their still joined hands "I won't make any promises football head. But for your sake, I'll try and resist temptation." she said, giving his hand a gentle squeeze, blushing again.

Grinning he turned and started walking. He wasn't as tired anymore. It was alright now, she had just needed to get things off her chest, and he just needed to clear things out for her. All he had to do now was make sure they all stayed alive and save his parents. Easy...

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A/N

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I blame their being out of character on nerves. Both were so tired and so scared, they HAD almost died a few hours ago, and they'd not slept well in 3-4 days...Emotions were running high for both of them.

Hope you like, I know it's been a while, but I promise I'll try and update.

This is supposed to be a 5-6 chapter fic and I'm already working on the second.


	2. 12 years old, A promise

12 years old – Promise

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Sunset Arms' backyard was almost full to capacity. The reason being that practically everyone Arnold knew was present at the moment. Friends and family were scattered everywhere. Mr. Simmons by the stairs talking with Suzie and Mr. Hyunh. Mr. Fisher and grandpa arguing over a checker's board, while Ernie and dad watched with a small crowd, cheering on each player. Over by the buffet Oscar was getting as much food as he could manage into his small plate, a frowning Monkeyman making his way towards him. His classmates spilled all over the place, laughing and talking with each other. There were decorations all over the place, and a big sign spelling 'Have a safe trip!' hung at the end of the yard.

A great party, now all that was missing was a certain pigtailed girl, thought Arnold looking around.

"I can't believe that you really are going."

Turning around he saw his best friend making his way towards him. His smile dropping when he saw the look on Gerald's face. He'd been arguing with Arnold since he'd been told of his plans to go back to the jungle with his parents. A stupid idea, nearly killed them all that first time he keeps saying.

"It's not going to be as bad this time around." He said motioning to Gerald's arm. Which had been broken after they had fallen through a floor inside a temple. Luckily that had been the worst injury their group had sustained. "We are just going to help them re-locate. We'll be back before you know it."

"Yeah, and I believe last time your parents were just going into the jungle to deliver some medicine...a quick trip, wasn't it?"

"Gerald..."

"Look, all I'm saying is that it's dangerous. Those guys are gone. But that doesn't mean there aren't any more out there looking for the same thing. And even if there really weren't, that place is still dangerous enough on it's own. It's crazy and very stupid what you and your parents are doing." Placing a hand on his friend's shoulder he looked at him seriously "I know nothing I say will change your mind. You want to help your parents, I get that. But you need to be careful, OK? This time Helga and I won't be there to save you. You'll be on your own, and I don't like that., you're like a magnet for trouble."

"I'll be careful, besides Helga has already promised to kill me if I'm not." Chuckling he clapped his friend's arm. "Seriously, I'll be careful."

"Right." Shaking his head in disbelief at his friend, he changed the subject "Where's Helga anyway?"

"Don't know." Frowning he looked around "She said she'd be here."

"Olga is back in town. Maybe she cornered Helga and is trying to force her into a dress." Grinning at the idea Gerald looked around excitedly as if expecting her to pop out right then and there.

"Helga is always wearing a dress..." He replied distractedly, still looking around. Maybe Olga HAD cornered her, hadn't she been arguing about something blue the last time they'd talked?

"She is, but according to Rhonda, it's completely out of date!" Throwing his face to the side and striking a pose, Gerald would have snapped his fingers had they not been busy with some snacks he'd just picked up. A near perfect imitation of their stylish friend.

Grinning Arnold gave up on his search. "Hey, can I ask you for—"

"Hey Arnold!" Looking behind Gerald he grimaced when he saw Harold making his way towards them, Sid, Stinky right behind him. "Where's your ugly girlfriend? Huh?" Grinning smugly at the funny joke, that he had been using for the last 6 months, he looked expectantly at Arnold. Great.

"Hey guys, thanks for coming." Shaking hands with Sid and Stinky, Arnold tried to ignore Harold. "Are you enjoying the party?"

"Wouldn't miss it Arnold, hope you have fun in your trip!" Exclaimed Stinky examining some snacks on a nearby table.

"So, were is your ugly girlfriend?" Asked Harold looking eagerly from side to side. "I thought she'd be here, seeing as you guys are attached at the hip!" Laughing hard he smacked Sid on the back, making him spill some of the soda he'd been drinking.

Sighing Arnold looked tiredly at Harold, this really was starting to get on his nerves "Helga isn't my girlfriend Harold, and I don't know were she is. She hasn't arrived yet. Did you need her for anything?"

"Yeah, I wanted some hairdo tips from her!!!" Cracking up he smacked Sid again, this time making him loose balance and almost fall on Gerald.

"Shut up already Harold. At least Helga HAS hair to style, unlike some people we know." Perplexed, Arnold stared at Gerald. Had his best friend just defended Helga?

Thinking the same thing Harold stared stupidly at Gerald before slowly realizing that Gerald had just called him bald.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"

"It means drop it. It wasn't funny at the beginning it isn't funny now."

Whatever Harold was about to reply died in his throat as he focused on something behind Arnold. Soon his eyes widened and mouth dropped open in shock. Looking at the other two they wore similar expressions of shock. Stinky had even dropped the sandwich he'd just chosen. Gerald's eyebrows almost reached into his hair. Mystified Arnold turned around and almost took a step back in shock. A scowling Helga met his eyes.

A scowling Helga, that was indeed wearing a dress. A very pretty light blue dress with a flowing skirt that reached her knees. A Helga who's scowling face was framed by flowing golden hair. A very pretty, scowling Helga that was wearing lip-gloss and who's eyes were shinning a bright blue. A bright angry blue.

"Do I have something in my face, football head?" Realizing that he had been caught gawking, he closed his mouth with a snap and shook his head quickly, feeling an intense heat creeping up his neck. Frowning at him, she turned her attention on Harold.

"What were you saying about me fatso?" Moving Arnold to the side and stepping forward so that she was almost in Harold's face she jabbed a finger in his chest, almost making him stumble backwards."I didn't get to hear it clearly."

Standing there he just continued to stare at her as if on a daze, not even aware that she had spoken. Getting irritated at his prolonged silence Helga jabbed him in the chest with more force, effectively snapping him out of it.

Shaking his head he stepped back, hand absently rubbing at the spot she'd poked, and blinked a few times. After a few more minutes he squeaked "Your hair!" which only made Helga tilt her head and raise an eyebrow, in turn making him panic and loosening his tongue a bit more "You— Your hair! You—Girl—What—Are you wearing a DRESS?!" Motioning to her dress he stared at her again as if trying to comprehend what he was seeing.

"I'm always wearing a dress, you moron. And what of my hair? I changed the style, got a problem with it, bucko?" Sneering at him, she flipped her hair to the side and placed both hands on her hips. Daring him to say more.

Harold's eyes almost popped out when Helga flipped her hair. Usually seeing Helga this angry had the effect of making boys either cower, walk away, run away, or in Harold's case argue back and end up getting punched in the gut. But seeing Helga looking like she did right now; all bright eyes, pretty dress, flowing hair, and shiny lips, well it kind off made her look...very appealing. Looking at the other boys Arnold frowned. They looked to be arriving at the same conclusion he had long ago. And he didn't like it.

Grabbing her arm Arnold started dragging her away muttering something about his mom wanting to see her. Perfect. She'd decided to dress up, NOW that he was leaving. He really needed to talk to Gerald.

"Why did you drag me away? I wanted to hear what stupid thing he come up with next!" Exclaimed an angry Helga, glancing back she let out a laugh "Did you see the look on his face?! He was practically crapping his pants!" She finished turning around to look at him gleefully once he stopped walking.

That was not Harold's scared face. But he was not about to correct her, the less she knew the better for him. Looking down at her expectant face he changed his frown into a pleading look. "I just don't want you to fight. Not today. Please?" Lately he'd noticed, that more often than not, if he asked nicely, she would listen to him. And the rare times he'd firmly asked her to stop, she would. A fact he'd been exploiting more and more.

Looking ready to argue, she finally averted her eyes and pouted slightly. "Fine. But if he comes looking for it, I will punch him."

"Helga"

"Fine! I won't punch him."

"Thanks. C'mon." Taking her hand again, he led her to were he could see his mom and grandma talking by the stairs to the boarding house. "Mom wanted to see you."

As soon as Stella spotted Helga next to Arnold she enveloped her in a bone crushing hug "There you are Helga! I was beginning to think you weren't coming! Oh, now don't you look adorable in that dress?" Smiling at her she held Helga at arms length to examine the girl. Brushing imaginary dust from the sides of the dress and combing her hands in her hair. "Arnold honey would you mind looking for your dad? I think he wanted to ask you something." Smiling she started shooing him away dismissing his protests by stating that he would have Helga the rest of the evening. "You can spare her for a few minutes dear. Now go look for your father."

Shaking his head he headed to were his father was still watching his grandpa and Mr. Fisher arguing over the checkers board. Greeting people and well wishers along the way.

"Arnold! You're missing all the action." Grinning he stood by his dad to watch his grandfather's checkers' battle.

"Who's winning?"

"Grandpa, Rob keeps trying to distract him though." Whispered Miles to Arnold. Looking up he signaled to the other side of the yard. "I see your mom has sequestered Helga."

Smiling Arnold looked over. His grandma was handing Helga something while his mom was happily chatting away. It was amazing, they'd both taken a liking to her so fast, his grandmother adored that Helga always seemed to know what she was talking about, and his mom, well, she'd just taken to her the moment they met.

"Yeah, she did."

"Oh Arnold! I'm ever so glad I found you."

Smile turning into a slight grimace he turned to greet Lila and introduce her to his dad.

"Nice to meet you."

"It's ever so nice to meet you too Mr. Shortman!"

"Please, call me—"

"Miles! You didn't tell us you were once a great checkers' player too!" Grinning his dad excused himself, and turned back to the group watching his grandfather play, leaving Arnold and Lila to talk alone.

"I am going to miss you ever so much Arnold. You have been so wonderful. I am afraid that nothing will be the same without you here in Hillwood. It really is such a shame that I didn't realize how special you were to me before now..."

Smiling apologetically Arnold stared at her, sort of spacing out as she continued to talk in that pleasant way of hers. She looked as pretty as always, red hair perfectly braided, cute green skirt and a matching shirt, and an adorable smile. Not a single hair out of place, perfect as always. To think that at one time his heart would have fluttered madly at so much as a look from her.

She was everything he thought he wanted; a pretty face, a friend, someone to sit beside and have a pleasant talk...someone perfect. But now, now all that seemed kind of— dull. An image of Helga, yelling at him while covered in mud, blood in her shirt, and wild hair flashed into his mind. He'd seen how wrong he was, perfection wasn't right for him. Someone raw, wild, and untamed suited him better, she didn't just make his heart flutter; she made his blood boil he thought smirking.

"Arnold? Arnold!!"

Snapping out of his daydream, he focused his attention back on Lila, who now wore a small frown. Eyes widening he realized he'd probably been spacing out for a bit now...

"Arnold! Were you listening to me? That is ever so rude."

"Er...I'm sorry Lila, I didn't mean to be rude...I was just—It's been a very long day?" He finished lamely.

"I'm ever so sure it's been. If you will excuse me..."Sniffing slightly and with her nose held high Lila stalked off, leaving a sheepish Arnold behind.

"Well, that went well." Startled Arnold looked to the side at were his dad now stood. "She seems like a nice girl."

"She is"

"Do you like her?"

"Used to." At his father's questioning look he elaborated a little "She liked me, she just never 'liked me, liked me'. And then, when she did..." he trailed off, not knowing how to finish.

"You were already moving on to greener pastures?"

"Yeah, something like that." Smiling Miles laid his hand on Arnold's shoulder.

"A pretty amiable girl seems nice, but I think that for the men in our family, a girl that can present a challenge works better." Chuckling he pressed Arnold's shoulder and indicated towards were Helga was being dragged off by Rhonda and what appeared to be half the girls in his class "Speaking of, I think you'd better go rescue her. She doesn't look too pleased."

One look at Helga's face told Arnold that she was probably going to punch someone. Thinking that a screaming, bloodied Rhonda would probably ruin the party, he started in their direction. Only to have his attempts at peacekeeping thwarted by Gerald.

"You do not want to go there right now." He told him and taking his shoulder he directed a slightly protesting Arnold in the other direction "Trust me, it'll be better for you to stay away right now. Safer. Besides, didn't you want to ask me something?".

Much later a frustrated Arnold made his way to his room. Not only had his talk with Gerald been unsuccessful, but he STILL hadn't been able to talk with Helga. He'd been searching for her for the past two hours, and nobody had seen her since Rhonda had dragged her away. Which meant she had probably fled as soon as she could.

Angrily he climbed the last set of stairs, he shouldn't have let Gerald drag him away. This was his last chance to talk to her...tomorrow he still had some last minute packing to do and at night he was leaving. 'Dammit.' He thought, maybe if he hurried he could get things done fast and see her before he left. "Guess that's the only option left..."

Frowning he looked up and saw that the stairs to his room had been pulled down. '...did I leave them down?' Not really caring, he shrugged it off. Entering the room, he left the lights off and blindly made his way to his desk noisily looking for a pile of cd's he'd left there. He needed to return those to Iggy before he left. Picking them up, he almost dropped them when he turned and noticed something moving on his bed. Turning on his desk lamp quickly he gasped when he saw Helga sitting up in his bed.

"What are you trying to do football head?! Blind me!?" Rubbing at her eyes she let out a "geez" before she could finally look up at him. Had she been sleeping? Her hair was a little mussed, her dress wrinkled, and what looked like a crease from his pillow on her cheek. Her shoes lied comfortably at the foot of his bed.

"What?" she asked frowning up at him.

He was probably gaping like a fish, but for the life of him he couldn't stop "You...You're here!".

"Was I supposed to be somewhere else?" Yawning, she stretched and scratched her head mussing her hair some more in the process.

"Yes. At the party? Downstairs, in my back yard? Remember???" Shaking his head he put the cd's back on his desk and went to sit beside her. "I have been looking for you all day, y'know?"

"You were?" Helga asked looking at him curiously "I didn't know we were to be restrained to the backyard. Thought the 'party at my house' invitation meant the 'entire house', you should be more specific next ti—Oh, Fine!" She ended quickly, sighing in exasperation at his frown. "I was hiding. Alright? Rhonda kept bugging me and Harold was getting on my nerves; and I couldn't punch him because SOMEONE made me promise not to. Said it would ruin some stupid party or something...And as it turns out, not punching Harold when he's being even more of a dumb-ass than usual??? It's really, REALLY hard."

Flopping down on the bed she motioned to the room in general "So I came here to your room; and fell asleep. It was that or leaving, and by the look you are giving me, leaving was definitely not an option. So in the end, you not finding me was really your own fault, you have no right to be angry at me." With that said she closed her mouth with a snap and covered her eyes with her arms.

Grinning at that he felt all his earlier frustration leave. She had been here all along. He could still talk with her. Plus she had listened to him, she had not punched anyone, she had just been hiding from their classmates. Harold had to have been really annoying...Frowning again he was about to ask her what exactly Harold had been doing when he heard her murmur something "What was that?" At her silence he shook her leg "Helga?"

"I said I'm going to punch him as soon as you are gone." She snapped after a few minutes of silence, arms still covering her eyes.

Grinning he laid beside her "Ok" he had nothing to worry about. For now.

Lifting her arms off her face, she turned to look at him in shock "Ok...?" she repeated slowly.

"Yeah" he confirmed, looking up at the stars through his window "He probably deserves it."

"He does" Frowning she got up on her elbow and turned to look down at him "Did you get hit in the head football head? You do realize what you are saying? That I can hit Harold? You are allowing me to use violence and stating that it's alright to do so because 'he deserves it'..."

"You're more than likely going to do it anyway. I told you not to hit him today, I didn't specify any other day." Reaching up he tugged at her hair "Just try not to punch him too much...I think he's starting to like it."

At that Helga's dreamy expression immediately changed into a disgusted one. "What?! He does not!"

"I don't know...he does seem to keep coming back for more...kinda strikes me as the type that would like that sort of thing. And you are specially good at delivering."

Making loud gagging sounds and trembling dramatically it was a few minutes before she stopped and dropped down beside him "Is this a new strategy of yours? Disgust me into being nice?" Shuddering in horror once more at the mental image.

"Would it work?" He asked after a moment, leaning up on his elbow to look at her.

"Yes, I think you've successfully traumatized me into submission. I will never be able to form a punch anywhere NEAR Harold without thinking of what you just said and consequently vomiting." Flicking a slap at his arm "I hope you're happy, you have just scarred me for life."

"I'm sorry..." smiling down at her, he started toying with her hair again.

"No you're not." she said, blushing slightly and averting her eyes from his.

"No, I'm not." Looking down at her, he was struck again by how pretty she looked today. "Is that the blue dress you had mentioned the other day? The one Olga was going on and on about?"

Blushing madly she sat up, crossing her arms defensively. "Just to get it straight I didn't do this for you! I wasn't going to let her. She just caught me off guard." Standing up she started pacing in front of the bed. Making him sit up in order to look at her properly. "Practically pushed me into the damn thing, and then she started in on the hair, and THEN she was adding what she called, 'light' makeup! I was pushed out the door before I could take the stupid thing off." turning to glare at him she continued her rant "It's stupid, dressing up for—I feel so ridiculous! No wonder everyone kept bugging me today. I've made a fool of myself, I'll never live it down."

"Helga, stop it. Sit down." Reaching out for her hand as she passed him by again he pulled her towards the bed. "You don't look stupid. You look really pretty. The dress looks really nice on you, the color suits you..." Reaching up he touched her slightly pink cheek "It matches your eyes." Smiling he moved his hand into the hair at the nape of her neck "And I believe I'm always telling you to let your hair loose, it looks really nice down. I admit it is a bit mused now, but it still looks good. As for the make-up, I don't think lip gloss counts as make-up..."

"I'm wearing pink eye shadow too."

Grinning he looked closer at her eyes "So you are." He whispered; and because she looked so pretty right there looking up at him with bright blue eyes, because he was leaving tomorrow, and because he couldn't; didn't really want to help himself, he closed his eyes leaned down and kissed her.

Pulling away after a few minutes, he leaned his forehead against hers, sighing contently. Finally, he'd kissed her again, and it only took him 6 months to do build up the courage to do it. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts he almost missed the first sniff. The second one had him pulling away to find Helga silently fighting back tears.

"Helga...what?"

With a sob she threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. At first he tried to pull her away, but once she refused to let go he gave in and let her cry, burying his face in her hair and hugging her back as tightly as he could.

"Helga..." Taking a deep breath he pulled a bit at her, they needed to talk. This time she did let herself be separated, but just enough to lift her face and look him in the eyes. His heart nearly broke when looked at her, it was as if they were back at the jungle on that fateful day when everything changed...

"You're leaving. You are leaving." she said shaking him as if to make sure he understood "I don't want you to go, and I'm so worried that I won't know if you are alright. That you won't return!" Worry changed to anger quickly "You are such an idiot! Why are you going there again!? You nearly got killed the first time! And now you are going BACK!? Your parents went there that first time and it took them 11 years to get out!! What if you can't get out?!"

"This isn't the same thing. We are just going there to help them re-locate." he said, repeating the same thing he had told Gerald.

"If it's just that then why are you going??? Why do you need to go? Your parents can do this alone!"

"Because I owe it to them! All this time they kept my parents alive, they kept US alive at the end. I want to help. I NEED, to help them. And this time it won't be dangerous. It's just finding a better spot were they can be saf—she—sheltered! From the...outside world." he finished lamely.

"Oh please, you're obviously lying. If it wasn't dangerous, this wouldn't be happening in the first place! If it wasn't dangerous you wouldn't be going. And you really are just going because you are as afraid that your parents will go there and not return, as I am that YOU won't!"

Opening his mouth to argue that it wasn't the truth, he shut it again. She'd nailed it, of course. Letting out a breath he looked at her pleadingly, begging her to understand. He needed to go. Needed to make sure they were safe. He would never be able to bear it if he lost them again. Soon he saw understanding and resignation in her eyes, but with it came a fresh batch of tears.

"Helga, no don't cry. I'll be as careful as I can. I'll be safe, you'll see. I'll do whatever it takes. I'll come back, I promise." Pulling her to him again he hugged her tightly.

"You can't promise something like that..."

"I can. You'll see."

They sat like that for several minutes, hugging each other tightly. Taking a deep breath she pulled away and punched him as hard as she could.

"Ouch! What was that for?!" Letting go of her he rubbed at his injured arm.

"If you are not back before I graduate high school, I will go searching for you. And I will kill you when I find you, for not keeping your promise." she informed him looking seriously into his eyes.

Grinning he pulled her to him again and kissed her hair "I'll be back long before then. It'll save you the trip and the headache."

"I mean it football head, I'm serious."

"I know. So am I." Looking into her eyes he started leaning in to kiss her again...

"Hey Arnold! Are you in here? Your dad wants..." Stopping dead in his tracks as soon as he realized that his friend was indeed in the room but not alone, Gerald almost took a step back and left. But seeing that is was Helga he was with and noticing how close they were made him freeze, and gape. Turning to him Helga looked like she was about to get up and yell at him, but stopped herself and just glared at him defiantly. She looked like she had been crying; a lot. That shocked him more. He had never seen her like this, the time at the jungle didn't count. They had been under a lot of stress, and she hadn't openly looked back at him. A quick glance at Arnold told him all he needed to know. She was just as worried about Arnold as he was...and Arnold was right.

Pulling away from his best friend and brushing her hands over her cheeks she looked at him expectantly "What did you want Geraldo?" she finally asked after he just stood there looking at her.

Jolting as if awakened he shook himself and looked back at Arnold "You...your dad wants to give a speech or something. He was looking for you..."

"Right, then I'll go wash my face." Standing up she made her way towards Gerald and stood in front of him for a few minutes before he realized he was in the way.

"Sorry" he said, quickly moving out of the way.

Standing up after a few minutes Arnold looked around his room as if lost, then walking over to his desk he sighed tiredly when he saw the cd's he'd originally come looking for. Iggy was probably gone by now. He would have to ask Gerald or Helga to return them for him.

"I'll do it."

Confused he looked up to see Gerald standing by the door still staring at it "What?".

"I said I'll do it. I'll keep an eye on her. Like you asked me to. I'll try to keep Harold and the others at bay."

"What made you change your mind? Just an hour ago you'd made a list of the top 10 reasons why you'd never do that."

Turning around he looked at Arnold "She let me see her face...and I get the feeling, that only three people have seen that side of her." Frowning Gerald shook his head letting out a breath "Plus I guess she HAS been nicer since we came back from the jungle. It would be a shame for her to go back to being angry all the time. Plus you were right, there's the added bonus that she is Phoebe's best friend."

"A great bonus." grinning he walked to his best friend and they shook hands.

"Yeah... Go do your thing, man. Make sure the green eyes are safe and sound, do what you need to do, and don't worry. I'll keep an eye on her for you. Just make sure to come back, or I'm sure she'll kill us both."

"Thanks man, I owe you."

"Owe him what?"

Looking up they both saw Helga standing at the door, hair neatly brushed and face looking fresh. That was fast...

"A favor, he's returning some cd's I borrowed from Iggy."

"Yup, it's those right?" Asked Gerald, following Arnold's lead and signaling to the stack at his desk.

"Yes, those ones." Nodding his head he smiled at Helga who was looking at them suspiciously.

"Right, are you two going downstairs? 'Cuz if you're not, I'm going home."

"Yeah, let's go." Smiling he watched Helga and Gerald head downstairs. Feeling like a great weight had been lifted of his shoulders, Arnold breathed a little easier now. She was going to be alright, Gerald would look after her. But more important than that, she said she'd give him until the end of high school before coming after him. And if he knew Helga like he did, she would most definitely do just that. Which meant she would be spending her time obsessively counting down the days until then, instead of noticing other boys. Perfect, he thought grinning. Now all he had to do was go to the jungle, rescue some natives, stay alive, and head back home before she graduated. Easy.

* * *

Sorry this took me so long, I had everything finished and then decided I hated it, so I had to start all over again. Plus inspiration kept running away from me.

This version I liked more. Makes more sense. Hope you like. Please forgive all the errors, I'm trying my hardest to learn and avoid as many as I can.

Thank you for all the favorites and reviews, it fills my heart with joy.

Also, Helga choose High School for a specific reason, she's not allowed to leave the country until High School graduation. Big Bob didn't like her trip to the jungle a lot.


	3. 15 years old, Peach flavor

15 years old- Peach

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Walking down the darkened hallways he ignored the spooky Halloween decorations and the few students that he came across and tried to hurry as much as he could without breaking into a run. He needed to hurry. If he hurried he might be able to catch her before she made her escape. Again.

He turned left and sped up. It was time to put an end to their game. He'd been patient and given her space. They had needed to get to know each other again. It had been three years after all. A lot can change in that time. Like her. She'd changed, _a lot_. Not just physically. Although that still drove him to distraction more often than not. He was beginning to believe she was doing it on purpose...wearing those fluttery skirts that drove him mad, leaning against..._things_ and making her breasts more...pronounced...having her hair, glossier than ever, loose and adorned with another one of those pins his mom had given her, looking at him with bright blue eyes. She had to be doing it on purpose.

But it wasn't just the physical aspect that had changed. She'd also grown more confident in herself. She didn't need to hide behind the bully anymore. Now she proudly showed the world who she was; a strong, intelligent young woman with dreams, passion and a sensitive side. Anyone that had a problem with that could kiss her heel.

She was breath-taking and everyone saw it.

It was killing him. Three months was more than enough time. He couldn't take it anymore.

She new how he felt about her. He new how _she_ felt about him. She had changed, grown up, but some things had stayed the same. He still made her blush when he got too close, still made her skin crawl when he touched her, he still _inspired_ her. She was still in love with him. And he was going to do something about it. He wanted to get over this awkward stage and have the right to kiss her, hold her, to glare at all the boys that looked her way.

Preferably before he wound up doing something crazy.

Which led to his current predicament. She was avoiding him. He had been trying to talk to her for a week now and she had used every excuse she could find to avoid him. For some reason as soon as he had decided to get serious she had decided to run. Like she used to do as a kid. But he was persistent and as determined as she was. It was just a matter of time before he cornered her. At that he grinned and finally broke into a run, blindly turning a corner and— "Criminy!" Crashing into Helga's soft body.

Groaning he sat up and looked at her sprawled form. Her skirt had ridden up...blushing he quickly averted his eyes noting the books and Halloween decorations that had fallen around her.

"What the hell football head?" Wincing she sat up and glared at him. "Don't you watch were you're going?" Looking up at her he noticed she had fake spiderwebs and glitter all over her. Was that a bat in her hair?

Grinning he got to his knees and helped collect her scattered things.

"Here, sorry about that." Handing them over he got up and offered her a hand. Which she glared at for a minute before sighing and taking. "Where's the fire anyway?" Getting up she handed him her bag to dust herself off and adjust her dress.

"...Fire?"

Rolling her eyes she took back her bag. "Where were you going to, Arnold-o?"

"Oh! I was looking for you." He told her, lifting a hand to her hair, making her stiffen in surprise. "I thought I could catch you before you left for home. Gerald's giving us a ride." Chuckling he untangled the bat and showed it to her, "I didn't know you were so serious when you said you'd decorate _everything_." Eyes widening she quickly reached into her hair and let out a pained groan when she felt the spiderwebs and saw glitter fall around her.

"Argh! I'm going to kill Eugene!" Shaking her hair she loosened some more glitter and started stalking down the hallway, "I don't know why the hell Rhonda thought it would be a good idea to put _HIM _in the committee."

"I think she was onto something, I mean she also put you in there," he interjected happily. She scoffed at him.

Somehow Rhonda had managed to get their school to do a Halloween dance, with their class in charge of-course. Helga had been livid, to say the least, when Rhonda had made the announcement that since she was so amazing at being scary, she'd be in charge of decorating. After many arguments, all of which Helga had somehow lost, she had made a vow to decorate every single corner of the school. And use most, if not all, of the budget. By the looks of things, she had made good on her promise. Rhonda loved it.

Arriving at her locker Helga dropped her bag on the floor and started going through her things. "Where's Gerald-o anyway?" She asked casually.

"He's finishing practice, Phoebe's with him."

"Oh." Biting her lip she went back to her locker. Silence settled over them as she slowly, haltingly, moved things from locker to school bag. She was dragging, looking for a way out. But there were none. They were alone, the hallways were empty and he'd made sure Gerald would take his time. She was cornered. Smugly he leaned into the locker beside hers.

Finally seeming to run out of things to move she took a big breath, as if to prepare herself, and finally closed her locker door. She had a small plastic tube in her hand. He narrowed his eyes. It was lip gloss. Peach flavoured lip gloss. He'd given her that when he came back, one of the many gifts he'd given her. It made her lips look plump, made her lick her lips, made her smile in ecstasy when she tasted it. She loved the thing. Every boy in school loved it. He wanted to burn the damn thing.

"What are you glaring at Football head?" He wanted to be the one to lick her lips and taste it.

His eyes snapped to hers. "Nothing," his heart was in his throat as she slowly opened the tube, lifted the cap with the brush half way to her lips, then lowered it again.

Raising an eyebrow she stared at him in disbelief. "You know," she started, "I've been meaning to thank you," stopping she finally lifted the wet brush to her lips and applied it slowly, tortuously rubbing her lips together before smacking them open. "For the lip gloss, I mean. I love it, how did you know I liked peach?" Then as if to make her point, she was parting her lips, her tongue peeking out—and he had her pressed to the lockers, one hand buried in her hair, the other holding tight to her hips. His lips swallowing her gasp.

Her things dropped to the floor and she wound her hands around his neck. Groaning he slowly licked her lips, finally tasting them. Arching her back she moaned and buried her fingers on his hair. Hungrily deepened the kiss, the hand on her hips sliding down, grasping her thigh, pulling her leg around him. She bucked her hips and with a guttural sound he pushed harder against her.

It was several minutes before common sense came crashing back to him. They were in school, anyone could walk in on them! Gasping he broke their kiss. It took a bit longer to drop her leg and step back. Specially when she kept trying to pull him back to her. Bracing his arms on either side of her head, he lowered his head to her neck and tried to calm down.

"Sorry," he managed after a while. "I— I didn't mean to loose control like that..." Rising his head, he brushed shaking fingers on her rosy cheeks.

Blinking out of her daze she licked her lips and grinned cheekily at him. Pushing him back a bit she picked up her long forgotten things, handing him her book back when he automatically stretched his hand toward it, dropping her lip gloss in her pocket. "It's ok, I was wondering how long it would take you." At his confused stare her gaze turned mischievous. "You should know by now that I like to push your buttons Football head. You make it so easy sometimes." Brushing him aside she started down the hallway.

"You—" Gaping he stared after her. She did that on purpose? "But—Then why have you been avoiding me all week? You even _ran_ from me the other day!"

"Doi! I was nervous Arnold-o." Turning around she gave him a shy smile, "It's always been a bit intense between us." That made him pause, had he pushed something she wasn't ready for, scared her? Walking back to him she lifted his face to look into his eyes, "It's ok, it's who we are. It's just still new to have hormones added in to the mix. For three years all I've thought about is how to find you in the jungles of San Lorenzo once school ended. I wasn't taking any chances like last time either, I know so much about survival I'd put professionals to shame. Then all of a sudden it's all meaningless. You're back, safe and sound."

Blushing she let go of his face and backed up a bit. "And you aren't a 12 year old kid anymore." Her bright eyes found his again, "You've grown up. Running through the jungle filled you out Football head. It doesn't help that you're stronger, and more aggressive, your mere presence used to distract me before, now it just—It threw me off balance to suddenly remember you were a boy," she rolled her eyes "and that you make me feel like a _girl_." Sighing shakily she wrapped her hands around herself. "It made me nervous to realize that we aren't kids any more. That you wanted a bit more than...Don't get me wrong I'm _more_ than happy with that, I just needed to...get used to it."

Sighing he took her arm and pulled her into a hug. "Sorry, I didn't mean to rush you. I just...I got a little anxious."

Looking up she rolled her eyes at him. "You didn't rush me Football head. It was momentary insanity." Standing up on her tip toes she kissed him, "I tend to panic when things change."

"I know." She hit him in the stomach. Grinning he bent to kiss her again when the sudden blast of music interrupted them, making them both jump. Groaning he watched as Helga took out her cellphone.

With an annoyed "_What_?" she answered it. "What do you want hair boy?...Yes Gerald he's here. No, we'll meet you outside...You can ask him that yourself...No... I said no! Don't put her on the line! I'm hanging up!"

Shoving her cell phone in her pocket she sighed in exasperation. "What was that about?"

"Your best friend being a wise ass." Rolling her eyes she stepped out of his arms. "Let's go before he decides to come looking for us and I'm forced to hit him."

Chuckling he sneaked a quick kiss before taking her hand and walking toward the exit.

"So, football head...any idea how I can get my hands on any more of that lip gloss? I'm starting to run out."

"Good."

"What?" Whining she pulled at his hand, "Why is that good? I like it! I thought _you_ liked it."

"That thing's going to give me a heart attack, or make me hit someone. I'm not getting you another one. It's too dangerous."

"What the hell are you talking about? Why would you hit someone over lip gloss?"

"I'll give you something else." Letting go of her he moved his hand to her hip and pulled her closer, "So, any thought to what costume you'll be wearing at the dance? Want to dress as a couple?" Smiling at the word couple, she let him change the subject. For now.

"Hmm, maybe we could go as Tarzan and Jane?"

* * *

Finally! I finally did another chapter! I have been in this horrible block for so long! I've done like 500 versions of this chapter. Sorry it took so long. But I hope this means I will finally be able to write again. I was really depressed about that. I hope you all like it, I worked so ridiculously hard at it. Please forgive any errors I overlooked.


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